The appointment of Ola Olukoyede by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as executive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has generated ripples.
The president yesterday appointed Olukoyede to serve as executive chairman of the EFCC for a renewable term of four years in the first instance, pending Senate confirmation.
Presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, in a statement, explained that Olukoyede’s appointment followed the resignation of the suspended executive chairman of the EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa.
He said the president also approved the appointment of Muhammad Hassan Hammajoda to serve as the Secretary of the EFCC for a renewable term of five years in the first instance, pending Senate confirmation.
However, questions have been raised over the legality or otherwise of Olukoyede’s appointment as chairman of the commission, specifically regarding Section 2 (3) of the EFCC Act 2004 which stipulates that a chairman “Must be a serving or retired member of any government security or law enforcement agency not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police or equivalent; possess not less than 15 years’ experience.”
Ngelale said the appointments were based on the powers vested in the president as established in section 2 (3) of the EFCC (Establishment) Act 2004.
He quoted the section as stipulating that “The chairman and members of the commission, other than ex-officio members, shall be appointed by the president,” Ngelale said Olukoyede is “A lawyer with over 22 years of experience as a regulatory compliance consultant and specialist in fraud management and corporate intelligence.”
He said since Olukoyede has extensive experience in the operations of the EFCC, having previously served as Chief of Staff to the executive chairman (2016-2018) and secretary to the commission (2018-2023), “he fulfills the statutory requirement for appointment as chairman of the EFCC.”
He said Tinubu tasked the new leadership of the EFCC to justify the confidence given to them in this important national assignment as a newly invigorated war on corruption undertaken through a reformed institutional architecture in the anti-corruption sector remained a central pillar of the president’s “Renewed Hope” agenda.
“Mr. Muhammad Hassan Hammajoda is a public administrator with extensive experience in public finance management who holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Maiduguri and a Masters in Business Administration from the same university. He began his career as a lecturer at the Federal Polytechnic, Mubi. From there, he went into banking, including successful stints at the defunct Allied Bank and Standard Trust Bank,” he said.
Presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, in a statement, explained that Olukoyede’s appointment followed the resignation of the suspended executive chairman of the EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa.
He said the president also approved the appointment of Muhammad Hassan Hammajoda to serve as the Secretary of the EFCC for a renewable term of five years in the first instance, pending Senate confirmation.
However, questions have been raised over the legality or otherwise of Olukoyede’s appointment as chairman of the commission, specifically regarding Section 2 (3) of the EFCC Act 2004 which stipulates that a chairman “Must be a serving or retired member of any government security or law enforcement agency not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police or equivalent; possess not less than 15 years’ experience.”
Ngelale said the appointments were based on the powers vested in the president as established in section 2 (3) of the EFCC (Establishment) Act 2004.
He quoted the section as stipulating that “The chairman and members of the commission, other than ex-officio members, shall be appointed by the president,” Ngelale said Olukoyede is “A lawyer with over 22 years of experience as a regulatory compliance consultant and specialist in fraud management and corporate intelligence.”
He said since Olukoyede has extensive experience in the operations of the EFCC, having previously served as Chief of Staff to the executive chairman (2016-2018) and secretary to the commission (2018-2023), “he fulfills the statutory requirement for appointment as chairman of the EFCC.”
He said Tinubu tasked the new leadership of the EFCC to justify the confidence given to them in this important national assignment as a newly invigorated war on corruption undertaken through a reformed institutional architecture in the anti-corruption sector remained a central pillar of the president’s “Renewed Hope” agenda.
“Mr. Muhammad Hassan Hammajoda is a public administrator with extensive experience in public finance management who holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Maiduguri and a Masters in Business Administration from the same university. He began his career as a lecturer at the Federal Polytechnic, Mubi. From there, he went into banking, including successful stints at the defunct Allied Bank and Standard Trust Bank,” he said.
Olukoyede’s appointment violation of law.
He said Section 2(3) of the EFCC Act was unambiguous and could not be overlooked.
The EFCC ACT requires that the person to be appointed as EFCC Chairman must amongst other things have
1. Been a serving or retired member of any security or law enforcement agency,
2. Must have 15 years cognate experience in law enforcement, and
3. Must not be below the rank of assistant commissioner of police
Olukayode is a private legal practitioner and has never worked or belonged to any security or law enforcement agency as a member
He does not have 15 years cognate experience as a law enforcement officer and His private legal practice years cannot be equated to his rank in law enforcement. Not enough attending seminal courses as a private legal practitioner can equate to 15 years of cognate experience contemplated by section 2 of the Act.
HE ONLY HAD A STINT AS CHIEF OF STAFF OF MAGU AND LATER BECAME A SECRETARY OF THE COMMISSION, ALL OF WHICH LASTED FOR LESS THAN 6 YEARS
Comments
Post a Comment